U.S. wavers on demand for Iraq inspections
Mike
THE WASHINGTON TIMES http://www.washtimes.com/national/
Vice President Richard B. Cheney says it is uncertain whether the
easing of U.N. sanctions on Iraq would require the return of U.N.
weapons inspectors to check if Saddam Hussein is developing weapons of
mass destruction.
When asked yesterday on NBC´s "Meet the Press" about possible
changes to the sanctions regime on Iraq being considered in the U.N.
Security Council next week, Mr. Cheney said the United States "would
continue to demand inspections" but suggested it could accept their
loss -- a sweeping reversal of previous U.S. policy.
In the past, this country has always set a return of U.N. weapons
inspectors -- who were removed from Iraq in late 1998 in anticipation
of U.S. bombing raids -- as a condition for easing the sanctions
imposed on Iraq a decade ago as punishment for invading Kuwait and
starting the Persian Gulf war.
Before the inspectors were withdrawn, Saddam said he would no
longer cooperate with them. After they left, a state-run Iraqi
newspaper said Baghdad would tolerate crippling sanctions rather than
accept the inspectors´ return.
Asked on NBC if sanction relief would be ruled out unless the
U.N. weapons inspectors are allowed back into Iraq, Mr. Cheney said,
"I can´t say that."
The reason for the uncertainty, he said, is that negotiations
"with members of the Security Council and our allies and friends in
the world" on the sanctions that would be appropriate are still under
way.
Mr. Cheney was then asked if the United States would view it as a
"defeat" if Iraq is no longer subject to U.N. weapons inspections. He
replied: "The key here is what happens with respect to Saddam´s
military capability, and the argument is and has been by many of our
friends in the region that the way the sanctions are operating now,
they are, in fact, damaging relationships, in part because of harm
that is done to civilians."
Mr. Cheney said Saddam uses that claim "as an excuse, frankly,"
for fostering anti-American sentiment in the region and justifying his
repressive rule. He added that the United States now thinks "focusing
on the military aspects . . . and retargeting the sanctions on the
important [weapons] technologies and capabilities is crucial here."
In the NBC interview, the vice president was not asked how anyone
can determine exactly what "important technologies and capabilities"
Iraq has or is developing, without reports from impartial weapons
inspectors.
According to published reports, the sanction-relief plan jointly
proposed by the United States and Britain would end bans on civilian
goods imported to Iraq but tighten controls on military-related
supplies. The original plan reportedly required the return of the
weapons inspectors as a condition for providing more focused
sanctions.
But Mr. Cheney said yesterday: "Exactly what´s going to come out
of the consultations that are now under way, I wouldn´t want to
predict."
This is not the first time Mr. Cheney has suggested weapons
inspectors may be dispensable.
In an interview March 2 with editors and reporters of The
Washington Times, Mr. Cheney said inspectors "may not be as crucial"
as in the past, "if you´ve got" a sanctions program in place that
"people are willing to support."
But just hours after the interview, Lewis "Scooter" Libby, the
vice president´s chief of staff, called The Times to clarify Mr.
Cheney´s remarks. Mr. Libby said he wanted to make it clear that Mr.
Cheney did not think the inspectors had become unimportant. "We expect
the Iraqis to live up to all the U.N. resolutions, including getting
the inspectors back," the aide said.
The vice president did not offer details about what he described
as the "refocused sanctions" being proposed by Secretary of State
Colin Powell. But he said they include "very tough" measures with
respect "to anything that relates to the military" that would "keep
the revenue from oil sales flowing through the U.N. escrow account,
which is really key to maintaining those sanctions."
On "Meet the Press," Mr. Cheney was also asked about the disabled
Navy surveillance plane that has been sitting on the ground in China
for seven weeks, after being struck and damaged by a Chinese fighter
jet on April 1.
China has said the United States can have its $80 million plane
back, but it doesn´t want the aircraft to be flown off Hainan island.
Beijing has refused the United States permission to fly the EP-3E
plane, even though an American assessment team concluded it is
flyable.
Asked if the Bush administration will demand that the plane be
flown out of China, Mr. Cheney said, "My guess is that it may well
have to be crated out, partly because it´s in such bad shape. Whether
or not we should actually leave it there and try to repair it and then
fly it out or crate it out, that´s a subject to be negotiated with the
Chinese."